Duke to turn hog waste into electricity

Duke Energy and Duke University are partnering on a project to make electricity from hog waste.

The $1 million system will be tested at a 9,000-head hog farm in Boonville, about 70 miles north of Charlotte. It’s expected to be running by February.

Wastewater from barns will be treated in a device called a digester, which breaks down wastes in an airless environment. Captured methane gas will fuel a small turbine to generate 512 to 639 megawatt-hours a year of electricity. That’s enough to supply about 50 typical houses.